Over £15,000 for Illness Bug following Tarantula Nightmare at the Playa Costa Verde Hotel in Cuba

We have successfully helped a couple from Cumbria to claim compensation in excess of £15,000 for traveller's diarrhoea after staying at the Playa Costa Verde Hotel in Holguin, a beach resort in Cuba. Mr and Mrs Smith were staying at the hotel as part of as pre-Christmas break abroad, when shortly into the holiday they suffered serious symptoms of sickness and diarrhoea that are often associated with bacterial infections.

The Playa Costa Verde Hotel is offered by Thomas Cook as a package holiday, and is marketed as being an ideal hotel for couples and families, with many guests staying on an all-inclusive basis and taking advantage of buffet and à la carte dining, along with unlimited soft and alcoholic drinks.

What Went Wrong in Cuba?

Part of the way through their enjoyable winter break, the Smiths contracted an illness bug which resulted in Mr Smith visiting the hotel clinic and a prescription for a cocktail of medications. The couple had concerns over the hygiene at the hotel buffet where they found that not only was seafood mislabelled as potato soup that came with the added bonus of a dead spider.

Our clients' experienced problems with their hotel room, where the bathroom flooded 3 times. Worst of all they found a live tarantula in their hotel room, enough to make even the toughest holidaymaker feel uneasy.

Making a Claim for On-Going Illness

Unfortunately for our clients their holiday illness nightmare didn't end when they left their resort, and upon returning to the UK they continued to suffer symptoms, culminating in them instructing us to represent them in their illness claim against Thomas Cook.

Paul Stevens, our Group Travel Litigation Claims Manager represented Mr and Mrs Smith and arranged for their illnesses to be assessed by a food poisoning doctor, so that a proper assessment of their compensation could be made.

With full authority from Mr and Mrs Smith after being advised of the potential value of their claim we began negotiating a settlement with Thomas Cook.

A Positive Outcome

Following a little to and fro with Thomas Cook, an out-of-court settlement of over £15,000 was agreed upon, a result that the Smiths were very happy with. Upon receiving their compensation, Mrs Smith remarked on Paul's attention to detail in saying that he was "very diverse to individual needs checking every detail to deliver great service."

Mr Smith was equally impressed and confirmed that Paul was "very informative to all our needs" and the service in general was "excellent and well beyond our expectations."

Expert Opinion

Paul Stevens has the following to say about the case:

Assisting my clients in this case was made all the more easier by the actions that they took while still abroad. By seeking medical attention on holiday it was easy to prove that they had suffered an infection, and we also had photographs of the tarantula found in the Smith's hotel room, which my client courageously removed from his room, that could be used if needed.

In situations where clients gather great evidence, results are usually much quicker and larger settlements become possible, as the complex legal issues behind arguing for higher compensation awards are made a lot more straightforward.

Worryingly, it seems that problems with illness are still persisting at the hotel with one TripAdvisor contributor who stayed in February 2016 advising that "There was a party of six and everyone was sick after the first day".

Paul Stevens,Group Travel Litigation Claims Manager

Compensation for Illness in Cuba

Our Travel Law Specialists help many clients to claim compensation from their tour operator, and we're currently receiving a lot of enquiries concerning food poisoning suffered at hotels in Cuba. If you are looking for advice on how to pursue a compensation claim following illness on a package holiday in Cuba, we can help.

Find out the Value of Your Claim

Compensation awards vary depending on the circumstances of your claim and can be worth anything between £1,000 and £50,000, with more serious cases that involve long-term health complications such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) receiving larger awards. It only takes a few minutes for a member of the team to provide you with a free no-obligation consultation on your illness claim, so contact us today.

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Our team of legal specialists are ready to speak to you about your holiday complaint. Call us free on 0808 145 1353 or complete our quick enquiry form now.